When Beyonce dropped a surprise album with no promotion it got the creative gears turning in the heads of just about every entertainer on planet Earth. It was a flawless release that did not require any expensive marketing hype. This release was also protected from bootleggers because no one even knew that it was dropping. Now the Ontario rapper with Memphis roots that the world knows as Drake is following her footsteps.

The major difference is the timing: Beyonce went for the Christmas crowd with a December release; Drake was in search of the Valentine’s Day crowd with his release. Guys who knew that their girls were fans of Drake would have no problem spending on his new disc to make their girlfriends happy. This may have possibly been part of the reason that the album sold so well during the first week.

Bernardo Chua knows that the album was a literal surprise, but there is an even deeper surprise in place. What may be surprising to a lot of fans is the exclusion of singles that are not on the disc. Drake has release one hit after another for the radio. He seems to drop a new track every couple of months. All of the music from the disc is new. There are no singles, and that seems strange for someone that has dominated with singles. In these songs Drake raps and sings in a braggadocios tone.